The present invention relates to a thermal insulation system and, more particularly, to a thermal insulation system comprising a series of interconnecting insulation elements and a series of protective sheet elements.
There are a variety of means to thermally insulate a building or other structure such as a storage tank. For example, to provide thermal insulation in a building which has generally flat outer wall surfaces, foam panels can be incorporated within or attached to the building walls. In the insulation of storage tanks and other structures having curved surfaces, a series of insulation panels or sheets are placed on the outside surface of the tank or other structure. Following installation of the insulation panels, the panels are then covered with metal sheets or plates which are mechanically fastened to each other such as by means of screws. Unfortunately, in the described system, the insulation panels and the insulated structure are not effectively protected from the environment, particularly water and/or moisture, by the protective metal plates. This reduces the effectiveness of the insulation panels in providing thermal insulation. More importantly, this can also lead to corrosion of the surface of the structure being insulated.
In an alternative method for insulating a storage tank or other structure having a curved surface, urethane foam forming components can be sprayed directly onto the surfaces of the storage tank or other structure and the foaming reaction allowed to take place in situ at the surface being insulated to prepare a foam insulation. However, expensive spraying equipment is required to insulate a tank using this procedure. Moreover, the application techniques are labor intensive and care is required in handling the urethane forming components.
In view of the deficiencies of the prior art for insulating storage tanks or other structures having a curved surface, it is desirable to provide an effective and simple thermal insulation system which can be employed for the insulation of storage tanks and other structures and which does not exhibit the aforementioned deficiencies.
Accordingly, the present invention is such a thermal insulation system. The thermal insulation system comprises a thermal insulation layer of a series of interconnecting insulation elements, each insulation element being generally rectangular in shape. All four edges of an individual insulation element are worked or cut such that an interconnecting network of the insulation elements can be prepared. The insulation elements possess a guide groove cut in a surface of the element or a guide groove formed at the joint between two adjacent insulation elements. The thermal insulation system further comprises a protective layer covering the insulation layer. The protective layer comprises a plurality of protective sheet elements which are generally rectangular in shape. The sheet elements are flanged on one edge with a simple flange and on the opposite edge with a grooved flange, the simple flange and grooved flange being designed such that the simple flange of one sheet element fits into the grooved flange of a second sheet element and the grooved flange of the sheet element fits into the guide groove of the insulation elements.
The thermal insulation system of the present invention which comprises two basic components (i.e., an insulative element and a protective sheet element) is effectively employed for thermally insulating storage tanks and other structures without using screws or similar fastening means. Both components are capable of being pre-manufactured before assembly of the insulation system, thereby providing ease of installation at minimum costs. In addition, the sheet elements effectively interconnect to provide mechanical support and to form a protective covering or layer over the insulation layer which protects the insulation layer from the environment without the labor intensive step of fastening each sheet element with, for example, screws.
With the above in mind, it is a primary object of the invention to provide an insulation system comprising a thermal insulation layer of a plurality of interconnecting insulation elements, each insulation element being generally reactangular in shape and having at least one guide grove provided in a major surface of the insulation element or formed at a joint of two adjacent elements, a plurality of individual insulation layer, and a protective layer covering the insulation layer, said protective layer comprising a plurality of sheet elements which are generally rectangular in shape, each sheet element having a flange at one end and a grooved flange at the opposite end; said grooved flange being designed such that when two insulation elements are interlocked together by the sheet element, the flange of one sheet element fits into the grooved flange of a second sheet element and the grooved flange fits into the guide groove of the insulation element.
Understanding of this invention will be facilitated by reference to the accompanying drawings (not to scale).